#432. White Horses in Film and Myth

Movies and television represent the only culture Americans have left in the 21st century. Re-runs of old TV shows, DVDs and films at theater have become our shared heritage, for better or worse.

Today, a film will be released that Black people find unacceptable and will largely stay away from for they know from their Afrocentric teachings that the Greeks stole everything from the Egyptians, who were axiomatically a Nubian (Black) Black people.

Clash of the Titans, a remake of the 1980s cult classic, will once again peddle the mythology of the Ancient Greeks to a contemporary audience, without educating theater goers of the African roots of Greek mythology and great influence African scholars had upon the uneducated boy-lovers of Greece.

One line sticks out from the trailers of the film that hits home:

Spyros: One day, somebody's got to make a stand. One day, somebody's got to say enough...

Until that day, Black people will be forced to endure films that continually degrade their contributions to world history and install a misguided and improper view of ancient history that whitewashes over any and all Black contributions.

A paucity of Black faces will be present if you see Clash of the Titans, but one character is getting a face lift that dares to challenge assumptions of white privilege and replace it with an upgrade destined for induction in the SBPDL Black History Month Heroes.

Pegasus, the winged horse that Perseus rides in the film has shed its traditional whiteness for a modified and cool upgrade that fits in with the times, finally embracing the Afrocentric roots of Ancient Greece:

GB: When I was on the set in London, director Louis Leterrier said he was mulling over big changes for the Pegasus -- he was thinking of making it black with leathery bat wings.

MM: The Pegasus is black in the movie. I'm glad the bat wings didn't happen. It made the horse look too evil, I think. But we were big supporters of black Pegasus. It was to make the Pegasus a bit more of a bad ass. When you see it in the film, it looks tough. And the actual horse they got was a bad ass. And huge.

From The Lord of the Rings, the original Clash of the Titans, Crimson Tide and The Lone Rangers trusty stead, the heroic horse has always been white:

White horses (which are rarer than other colours of horse) have a special significance in the mythologies of cultures around the world. They are often associated with the sun chariot,^[1] with warrior-heroes, with fertility (in both mare and stallion manifestations), or with an end-of-time saviour, but other interpretations exist as well. Both truly white horses and the more common grey horses, with completely white hair coats, were identified as "white" by various religious and cultural traditions.

Exceedingly rare, the white horse is symbolic of greatness, hope and beauty. Every major mythology (all religions are regarded as mythological) has saintly uses for the white horse, from Christ riding a white horse from the heavens, to the glory that is Pegasus in his true color:

In Greek mythology, the white winged horse Pegasus was the son of Poseidon, in Poseidon's role as horse-god.

These myths are a thousand + years old and all bestow magical powers and great significance to the white horse, the rarest of colors for a horse. The white horse is a constant source of pride, hope, strength and ultimately, a symbol of good.

The exceptional white horse, a rarity among horses the world over, is hated and reviled by many for the perceived sense of privilege associated with its color and a whole field of equestrian whiteness studies has propped up to determine if white horses are favored over others and if so, what efforts can be instigated to make all other colored horses feel the same self-esteem and self-worth of the increasingly rare white horse.

Pegasus is the first in film and myth to be converted for the sake of appeasing Black people and helping uproot implicit racism by removing impediments to their self-esteem through the "coloring" of a historical white horse to fit the narrative of Black Run America (BRA) and give birth to new myths:

In Greek Mythology Pegasus was a winged white horse sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa.

In Mythology Pegasus is the white Seahorse of Revelation, the white seahorse in the sky, and the white seahorse of memory within you. In the human body the place of memory is called hippocampus which means seahorse.

The myths of our time must reflect the ruling body and thus, Black people have a horse of an entirely different color that few Classicists would recognize, but those who garner history of literature from film will barely notice.

A racial charged scene from the film Crimson Tide discusses the rare Lippizaner horse, which Capt. Frank Ramsey (played by Gene Hackman) attempts to proclaim a superior equine:

Capt. Frank Ramsey: From Portugal, the Lippizaner stallions, the most highly trained horses in the world--they're all white.

Lt. Cmdr. Hunter:Yes, sir.

Capt. Frank Ramsey:"Yes, sir," you're aware they're all white? Or, "yes, sir," you're seen them?

Lt. Cmdr. Hunter:Yes, sir, I've seen them. Yes, sir, I'm aware they're all white. They're not from Portugal, they're from Spain. And, at birth they're not white, they're black . . . sir.

Lippizaner horses, however, are not true white horses:

Aside from the rare solid-colored horse (usually bay or black), most Lipizzans are gray. Like all gray horses, they have black skin, dark eyes, and as adult horses, a white hair coat. Gray horses, including Lipizzans, are born dark—usually bay or black—and become lighter each year as the graying process takes place, with the process being complete at between 6 and 10 years of age. Contrary to popular belief, Lipizzans are not actually true white horses.^[5] A white horse is born white, has pink skin and usually has blue eyes.

In fact, a white horse is described by Wikipedia as one that:

White horses are born white and stay white throughout their life. White horses may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant white (W) genes, are rare. Most horses that are commonly referred to as "white" are actually "gray" horses whose hair coats are completely white.

Horses have a long and storied history with mankind. We celebrate them in our literature, our stories, poems, myths and novels. We glorify them as sentient beings who helped us in our evolutionary path toward expansion and societal development.

The white horse has long been the source of jealousy and hatred and simultaneously the origin of hope and beauty. Thankfully, Clash of the Titans - though devoid of any Black people - has made the move to ameliorate historical wrongs and jettison the image of whiteness as perfection and all that is good with a Black Pegasus.

Though historically wrong, the producers of the film are to be congratulated for daring to see beyond the limitations of whiteness and bring about the inclusion of Blackness into a film about white Gods and Goddesses.

Stuff Black People Don't Like includes white horses in film and myth, as the historical color of Pegasus was correctly changed to reflect the evolving times in America and the world at large. Movies must be made to placate BRA and the failure to include one Black face in Clash of the Titans meant the scraping of the white Pegasus for a more tenable shade of Black.

The goal is for all white horses to fade from memory, replaced with new myths. One problem: all myths from around the world attribute a certain level of respect and admiration to white horses, whom have the uncanny ability to save nearly every culture, no matter its ethnicity or race.

Clash of the Titans might be right: We are nearing the point where somebody must say enough is enough.